Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down is the 9th episode of the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica. ''It is part of Season 1. Plot Teaser When Commander William Adama and President Laura Roslin receive word that Dr. Gaius Baltar's Cylon Detector has been completed, they become suspicious at each other's insistence the other takes the test first. Meanwhile, Petty Officer Second Class Anastasia Dualla and Billy Keikeya go on a date on ''Galactica s Observation Deck to see the stars. Keikeya tries getting information from Petty Officer Dualla about Commander Adama; she reveals a series of untraceable and highly-secure calls made by the Commander before revealing what he is doing. Keikeya reports it back to the President, but they do not have enough evidence and his tense behaviour could simply be work-stress. Act 1 Dr. Baltar immediately dreads having to work on Cylon Detection. There are currently 47,905 people in the refugee fleet, and it takes eleven hours to test. He estimates 21,956 Caprican days will be spent on the project, which is over 60 years. Per Commander Adama's orders, members of Galactica s crew in sensitive positions have been ordered to submit blood samples for the first batch, which totals to several dozen people. Messenger Six tries to relieve his stress, but Lt. Kara Thrace interrupts him in the lab, thinking he is masturbating. She is here to submit her blood for testing. Messenger Six hints that something is "intriguing" about her, but won't say what. In his quarters, Col. Saul Tigh looks at the crumpled and partially burnt photograph of his wife, Ellen Tigh. The siren sounds and he rushes to CIC, finding Commander Adama is not on board. Cpt. Leland Adama is on CAP and is first to attack the Cylon Raider that jumped near the fleet. He damages it and it escapes, but jumps only a few kilometres. Col. Tigh decides not to destroy the Raptor, but have it observed for intelligence. Raptor 43 returns to the fleet, carrying Commander Adama. Col. Tigh heads to the hangar to greet him, and finds his wife Ellen is with him. On Cylon-occupied Caprica, it is the middle of the night. Lt. Karl Agathon and the Number Eight posing as Lt. Sharon Valerii are having to run through storm drains to hide from a Centurion platoon in the city streets above. He notes how in the weeks they have been there not once did they send "an entire army" after him. The Eight tells him they are actually after her, because when she was held captive they were talking about a Cylon base at Delphi. They now know however that Delphi is where their means of escape is. Dr. Baltar gets a wireless call from President Roslin, where he is asked to brief her when Commander Adama's test is ready. He tells her Commander Adama cancelled his test in favour of a woman named "Ellen". President Roslin insists he cancel her test and re-run the Commander's. Ellen Tigh explains her story to Col. Tigh, where she tells him she was injured when the Cylons attacked a spaceport on Picon, and she was taken out of the ruins by someone and put aboard the Rising Star as it escaped the planet. In CIC, Commander Adama agrees to study the Raider, as observing its jumping will give them data that can be useful in figuring out how to make their captured Raider use its FTL drives. Rather than return to CIC, Col. Tigh is called to take a Raptor to meet with President Roslin onboard Colonial One. He is disappointed to leave his wife behind, but he promises to come back shortly. Meeting with the President, he is told of her suspicions, and is urged to hold his tongue when he becomes insensed. Asked about the Commander's behaviour, he explains it was to pick up his wife, Ellen, who President Roslin quickly understands is the woman mentioned by Dr. Baltar. President Roslin calls Dr. Baltar and orders Commander Adama's test to be cancelled and Ellen's resumed in his place. A party is prepared on behalf of Ellen's return, but she becomes trying. Already manipulating Col. Tigh into drinking while on duty, he quickly becomes drunk during the dinner itself. Ellen offers supportive news to the President on the morale of the Rising Star s passengers, but ruins it by bringing up the minority who think a "kindergarten teacher" is unfit to be President. She brings up Zak Adama, unaware of his death two years prior, and begins rubbing Cpt. Adama's crotch with her feet before kicking him to make him cause a scene. Commander Adama begins questioning her about her time on board the Rising Star, as its captain reported that she wasn't given any medical attention until a week ago. When she asks where Earth is, both the Commander and President explain there is a serious risk of security breach should Cylon agents become aware of the location. The Tighs leave for bed, prompting President Roslin to ask if Commander Adama seriously thinks a woman like Ellen could be a Cylon. He explains that Ellen is a manipulative woman who is able to bring out the worst in Col. Tigh. The Tighs make a scene in the corridor, and get the attention of Dr. Baltar. Col. Tigh disapproves of Ellen's flirting, while the Messenger Six notes she is a woman to keep an eye on. When Dr. Baltar returns to the lab at the request of Lt. Felix Gaeta, Ellen tells her husband that Commander Adama molested her while she pretended to sleep on the Rising Star. When Col. Tigh calls out her lying, she drags him down to the lab to prove it. The Commander and President Roslin meet with Dr. Baltar in the lab, expecting to see Ellen's test results, but due to the repeated requests to restart tests he is behind schedule. Demanding to know why, he realises the President sent a spy on Galactica and discovers her suspicions of him as a Cylon. The Tighs enter the lab while he is halfway through explaining the danger of having Ellen in the ship, backing up Ellen's story. He and Col. Tigh being arguing, adding to the tension when the Commander discovers he met with the President behind his back. They are all called back to CIC when the Raider changes its behaviour. Realising it is going to go on a suicide run, Col. Tigh orders the Alert Vipers, which destroy it when Brendan Costanza fails to catch up. Back on Caprica, Lt. Agathon collapses in the storm drain, collapsed from exhaustion due to running all night. The Eight helps him to a raised level to avoid drowning. She goes up a ladder to check a manhole, and finds they are still in the city and a Centurion patrol is above them. He asks how she cannot be as tired, but she insists it is to do with adrenaline. The Six and Five monitoring her progress become concerned about her, as the Centurion patrol should have encountered the two during their escape. The Six is convinced the Eight has fallen in love with Lt. Agathon for real and will take him to Delphi. Back at Dr. Baltar's lab, the blood test on Ellen has been completed. He announces she has passed the test as 'Green' (non-Cylon). While the others celebrate, Messenger Six asks him what the real test result said, but he refuses to answer. Production ;Written by : Jeff Vlaming ;Directed by : Edward James Olmos: Further notes * Jeff Vlaming came up with two titles for the episode, with the competing title being "Secrets and Lies". Ronald D. Moore liked the pun in "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" and picked that title.sci-fi.com "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" podcast. * The episode was originally planned as a riff on Crimson Tide, with Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh at each other's throats due to the rampant suspicion across the Fleet that anyone could be a Cylon. When it was decided the episode should be more light-hearted, the tense situation was written out. Sources External links * Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down on Wikipedia Category:Season 1 episodes Category:Episodes directed by Edward James Olmos Category:Episodes written by Jeff Vlaming